London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Redrow took a bloody nose from investors today over founder and chairman Steve Morgan’s failed attempt to take the housebuilder private. The bid collapsed last month.

Sources said the firm’s senior independent director Alan Jackson saw a 20% vote against his reappointment at the company’s annual meeting in Wales, amid concerns over a perceived failure to look after the interests of smaller investors.

Morgan, who owns 40%, launched the £562 million bid in combination with hedge fund Toscafund, a 14% shareholder. He withdrew on the eve of a Takeover Panel deadline amid protests led by fund manager Fidelity, which owns 10%.

The meeting came as the Wolverhampton Wanderers owner said he was focused on driving the business forward “to create value for all investors”. The firm is seeing “challenging but stable” market conditions, as well as selling homes from more sites, leaving sales for the year so far 22% ahead of the same time last year.

Rivals Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes reported similar conditions today as the sector fattens profit margins by building on land bought more cheaply since the downturn struck.

But the industry has yet to feel the benefit of the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending scheme. Bovis chief executive David Ritchie said: “Have we seen a significant impact so far through our order book? Not quite yet. It will take through to the end of the year to see a tangible trend.”